Toward modeling auditory information seeking strategies on the web

Abstract

Human performance models based on information foraging theory have proved capable of predicting navigation behavior on the Web. They can therefore provide a useful tool for Web site design. They may also be effective for modeling auditory navigation within a single Web page. Designers often struggle to accommodate this sort of access, different as it is from their own experience. As a step toward realistic simulations based on models of auditory Web access, we describe information seeking strategies observed in people with visual impairment using screen reading software for Web navigation tasks. We outline one example strategy for approaching a new Web page that, guided by information foraging theory, may expose access barriers that current design tools miss. © 2010 Copyright is held by the author/owner(s).